Building Better Cities:

Edinburgh Scotland, circa 2017, photo by Sean McGadden

In the pursuit of building better cities there are endless problems and solutions to consider. The TED Radio Hour “Building Better Cities'' touches on five ways that cities can revolutionize themselves for the sake of better management, social equity, more humane development and the well being of all its citizens. Concerning the betterment of cities it can be easy to get lost in the ocean of problems and new problems that arise everyday. I think it is important to consider the way in which these segments attempt to confront one specific problem and its subsequent avenues for improvement. In the first case, the emotional experience of the city trumps all lower problems that arise. If a city cannot maintain the attention and curiosity of its residents to stay, live, work and play within its bounds then it has failed immediately. This problem is addressed with the implementation of green spaces, pedestrian friendly throughways and ultimately with landmarks that draw the attention of many foreign and local visitors. Additionally, at the highest level, municipal governments and mayors are the most well placed individuals and communities to address the evolving problems of the modern city. It is difficult to ask of the people with the most power to enact changes that can be beneficial to a city without them having real social, emotional or physical stake in the outcomes of these changes. Finally, in trying to make cities safer and happier places to live, the issue of crime and violence always weighs heavy on the minds of those who are considering engaging their lives in a metropolis. The investment in public infrastructure and transportation are priorities to serve communities with high risks of violence and crime as well as to bolster the improvement of these areas by giving the people who reside there more equity in the physical and emotional ownership of their neighborhoods. These simple truths will change the way cities occupy change over the next century as more and more people find themselves enraptured by the futuristic and innovative qualities of cities.

“Can Changing Your Route Change Your Experience Of A City?”

This segment examines the question with reference to Daniele Quercia, a computer programmer from Bell Labs. He explains his moment of inspiration on a regular bike ride to work on Massachusetts Avenue. Daniele points out the sacrifice he’s made on a daily basis to avoid the longer, greener, more emotionally populated, and human route for the sake of saving one minute. He found interesting ways that data could be used to understand the experience of various routes through Boston to improve emotional welfare of commuters with less of a focus on efficiency. Daniele developed an application called Happy Maps with data supplied by a crowd sourcing platform. His program established paths that were more emotionally or aesthetically pleasing to users. This program changes the ways we could think about engaging with the urban environment. Nearly every mapping software calculates distance and stoppages to return the quickest route to a given destination. Daniele quotes Einstein saying that although logic will bring you to a desired destination, imagination will take you anywhere at once. It is easy to be caught up in the urgency of life but Daniele questions the humanity of mapping software such as these. Similarly to the way Daniele has found happy routes to increase the well being of commuters, I have also sometimes taken the more scenic route for the serotonin boost during a morning or afternoon commute. Changing one’s daily route can, without a doubt, impact the overall experience and quality of a city. There are specific places where cars go and other places where people should go. This is a fact of planning and it is true that Boston is not a biker friendly city. It may be common sense, but the city is only as great as is our own experience of this city. By shifting the way residents and commuters interact with various urban nodes on a daily basis, the overall experiential quality of the city can be elevated to reflect the hours of planning and development that went into creating these spaces. Taking the time to simplify life into its smaller moments of timelessness can improve the opportunities for inspiration, happiness, connection and overall well being of those who find themselves occupied with the unyielding force of a metropolis.

“Benjamin Barber: Does The Road To Changing The World Go Through City Hall?”

Benjamin Barger focuses on an ideal of democracy and the ways in which the city helps to bolster a retained faith in democracy within cities. In questioning the loss of faith in democracy among some, Barger found that cities are the most clear representation of the places where democracy still really works. Embedded in the problems of population growth and climate change, Barger reflects on the way that states can no longer supply the sovereignty and sustainability of its citizens. The efforts to look after people has been placed on the shoulders of the city and its mayors. A city creates the most environmental and social problems and resultantly has been tasked with solving these issues in a pragmatic and urgent manner. Barger suggests that the mayors of cities are situated in the most effective positions to resolve the wicked problems that plague societies and urban environments. These mayors have the benefit of a realistic disconnection to ideology that limits many state and federal politicians. He quotes an example of the mayor of Jerusalem in the 80’s consoling religious leaders sparring for accessibility to religious land, “spare me your sermons and I’ll fix your sewers.” The solutions to climate change, social sovereignty, population congestion and political equality are found in the hard working teams of city hall. In my experience many of the most beloved politicians have been mayors and the most change has been enacted by municipal governments. Oftentimes, the most untrustworthy politicians are those who barter with big businesses and lobbyists. It can be difficult to accomplish much when there are constantly conflicting desires at the highest levels of government. It seems to me that the ideas that Barger presents are true. In much the same way that Jane Jacobs believed in the self-reliance and efficacy of small townships and communities, Barger argues for the relative power of a mayor in being able to get things done and solve problems that need to be solved to preserve the happiness and well being of local inhabitants. Today we are plagued by the idle nature of bureaucracy. Mayors and municipalities have the inherent ability to overcome the bureaucracies with human interaction and physical stake in their communities.

“Kasim Reed: How Are Mayors Better Poised to 'Get Things Done’?”

Kasim Reed is the mayor of Atlanta and he expresses his experiences of being a successful mayor. The ways that he is able to be a more effective politician is “speed and closeness to the people”. The basic fact that Mayor Reed is governing his neighbors and communities that he is a part of, gives him reason and accessibility to making the most important changes first. Being able to see the mayor and have actual conversations is a truth to the position that no other politician has the power or real ability to take advantage of. Much like the previous segment, this segment speaks to the visceral reality of being mayor and the responsibility that a mayor has to hundreds and thousands of constituents. I find it beneficial to hear the stories of people like Kasim Reed because it can be easy to misunderstand cities as manufacturers of wealth, industrial epicenters or mere geographic locations. Thanks to Mayor Reed, we can see how, in reality, cities are places of stories, backgrounds, livelihoods and neighborhoods. People inhabit these places more than the corporations or laws that govern them.

“Robert Muggah: How Are Some Fragile Cities Tackling Their Worst Problems?”

Robert Muggah has intimately lived and studied many cities across the world. He has tried to mediate the fissures that occur in cities as they grow to unprecedented levels. With the accumulation of people in cities, there has also accumulated the world’s most drastic problems such as healthcare, poverty, warfare, and politics. The world’s most fragile cities have become the epicenters of both innovation as well as the new determinants of world issues in the 21rst century. By investing in public infrastructure and allowing for inclusive growth, cities can lower crime and increase the overall well being of at risk populations. Robert Muggah speaks to the ways fragile cities can do many things to improve violence in cities. For example, the democratization of tools of infrastructural reform. Cities are a duality of the most futuristic developments and the most destitute malfeasance. Outreaching tactics and community engagement can allow both government and private citizens to collaborate in the mapping of violence and insecurity for the sake of improving crime rates. In the example of Medellin, by focusing on hot spots of crime and making reforms to police and public infrastructure in these areas rather than in a blanket change, homicidal violence decreased by over 70% in 10 years. Many specialists understand a list of states that will define foreign policy and security of the 21rst century. Robert Muggah believes this list is made of cities and not states because of the modern power of the metropolis. The most innovative change comes from thinking differently about weaving together all aspects of the city. Integrating low income and middle class communities together with first class infrastructure and transportation can help alleviate poverty as well as homicide in some of the world’s most dangerous cities. This investment in the future of cities through infrastructure will give all its citizens the feeling of ownership and stake in the well being of the city and its communities. I find it fascinating that the relationship that cities have to crime is one unprecedented in any other kind of place on earth. Crime and violence are things almost every human being can agree are not beneficial to the advancement of society as a collective. Crime is also one of the most insidious plagues to the emotional state of residents. I can attest to feelings of uncertainty or even fear in traveling through or in areas of high crime and destitution. My ability to enjoy the place I am visiting is diluted by the creeping feeling of a lack of safety and security. By decreasing crime and violence nearly all other activities a city is known for can flourish. The importance of decreasing crime is oftentimes overlooked by developers or tourists who might not understand the very real implications on the human psyche of high rates of violence and crime.

“Amanda Burden: How Can Public Spaces Change A City's Character?”

Public spaces have the opportunity to bring people together. According to former City Commissioner of New York, Amanda Burden, public spaces are the most transformative places as well as the glue that holds a city together. People will come from all areas of the city to experience parks and green spaces. Parks offer a different perspective that can be found within a city. Places like New York City gain significant value from its green spaces and parks. Parks can be major drivers of both positive and negative change. Bryant Park in New York had once been an epicenter of crime and drug use. Subsequently people were reluctant to even approach nearby public realms such as the library and families didn’t want to spend time in this area. However, the reform and redevelopment of Bryant Park, by simply trimming hedges and making small renovations has invigorated the park and thrust life back into the surrounding areas. Today, music and children playing can be heard throughout the space thanks to small changes that were implemented. Very basic things like places to sit and the exposure to greenery within the concrete sprawl of a city can offer people reprieve, invitation and friendly interaction. These simple ideals can be taken for granted but the positive effects of public parks on a population cannot be undermined. Additionally, the former commissioner emphasizes the importance of waterfront parks and the impact these spaces can have on people’s minds and souls. One example of this is the High Line Park development in Hudson Yards. It has a dignified ability to expose residents to a brand new perspective on the city by elevating users above the streetscape in a very inclusive and public setting. I can attest to the way the High Line, as well as many other parks I’ve experienced, have captured my attention and milked my creativity in a way no other spaces truly have the ability to do. Being outside and close to other humans has always been comforting and relaxing in every kind of way. I find the perspectives offered by Amanda Burden to be quite romantic and pleasing. The character of a city is often shaped through the nostalgia and emotional experiences that I encountered in my time there. The most lasting memories of cities I enjoyed are nearly always associated with parks, greenery and waterfront spaces alongside my most beloved friends and acquaintances. Ultimately, yes, parks have an unparalleled ability to change the character of a city.

Many of these segments address the conflict that exists, most often in America, between the human good of urban spaces and the consumer and capital agendas that battle for wealth. On a daily basis, nearly every human being can attest to the urgency and competitiveness of an increasingly interconnected and globalized world. However, nearly all these segments speak to an opposing agenda that grips the hearts and souls of every person. The way toward more humane cities is composed of, of course, in humane developments and policies to promote the human qualities of the city. The massive scale of buildings and expansive streetscapes that populate urban environments can dilute the scale of experience that humans are able and willing to interact with. In the pursuit of the resolution of crime, environmental issues, political inequity and social polarization, the city can find its coup de gras within the people who occupy its streets and alleyways. One thing I can draw from all of these segments is a willingness to invest in people and cities without a desire for monetary retribution. This is something that many people and businesses can find difficult to overlook for obvious reasons. However, the investment in people holds dear something truer and more pure than money. A faith in something greater than immediate monetary gratification can give cities room to grow to unimaginable heights of social idealization, prioritization of humanity as well as solve some of the most unresolved problems we have come to know as staple. The wicked issues that plague cities are confronted by investing in the well being and stimulation of the people who have to deal with these issues on a daily basis rather than top down blanket moves.

How to transition toward more sustainable patterns of urban production and consumption:

This idea of sustainable consumption and productions stems from a clear issue that plagues societies across the globe today. It is a fact that all goods and services that we enjoy in a first world setting are grossly over produced and underconsumed. This means there are huge amounts of loss and waste produced in all aspects of modern society. Whether it be food, building materials, energy or even media, many people in America are blessed with an abundance of these resources. Despite this abundance, much of it is wasted. Wolch presents this challenge as a means of providing for possible futures not yet lost to future generations.

The sustainable development goals of the United Nations present this issue as one of huge importance. They have cited many different routes for achieving these lofty goals.

“As defined by the Oslo Symposium in 1994, sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is about ‘the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of further generations’.”

The very fact that the UN has established the challenge of transitioning toward more sustainable patterns of urban production and consumption in many of its international clauses should present the idea that these challenges are of both international and regional importance. The framework of some of the programs pursued by the United Nations transcends many nations and has set a goal of the year 2030 to resolve these issues or, at the very least, find carbon neutral means of production and consumption to offset the adverse effects of climate change. Additionally, alongside the UN prerogative to find more sustainable means of urban production and consumption, the 2030 Palette is a library of sustainable design practices for new construction mirroring and inspiring the work of Donnell Baird and his company, BlocPower.